How to install Windows 10 from the Dell ISO

How to install Windows 10 from the Dell ISO

This article provides the information on "Installation of Windows 10 using the Windows 10 ISO".

Microsoft Windows 10 ISO.

Dell Windows 10 media dispatched to a customer is an ISO format. You can also download this ISO recovery media from Dell's Support Website under the Drivers & downloads section and the Operating System category for your computer, or from the following direct link from Dell Support: Dell Windows Recovery Image. This ISO file is not tied directly to the computer's service tag and can be used again if a Windows 10 reinstall is needed or if another Dell system needs a Windows 10 install/reinstall.

NOTE: Installation from Dell Windows 10 media will reset the drive partitions to the factory defaults.

The Microsoft Windows 10 ISO can also be downloaded using the Windows 10 Media Creation tool. Once you create either the DVD or the USB flash drive, you can boot to your Windows 10 media to install Windows 10.

NOTE: Installation on systems that have not been previously activated using the same version of the Windows 10 operating system will require a Digital Product Key to activate Windows 10.

Windows 10 install from ISO.

The steps below will guide you through the installation of Windows 10 via the Dell installation media.

UEFI boot must be selected as the boot option and system must be in UEFI mode. USB media is configured as UEFI boot enabled. (See Figure 1.)Figure 1. - UEFI Boot Selected.

System will now start the imaging process and will proceed to the general Windows setup after this step completes. (See Figure 8.)Figure 8. - The recovery process begins.

Manual Driver Load from PE Command Prompt

NOTE: Before starting the installation of the driver, use a utility like 7zip to extract the installation files from the .exe driver file downloaded from the Dell support site. Extract to a folder on a USB stick separate from the Windows 10 install media and ensure the USB is plugged in to the system needing drivers.

Using IRST driver in images below for this example.

Boot to Dell Windows 10 media and select languages to get to the home screen. (See FIgure 9.)Figure 9. - Selection of the Troubleshoot Option.

Navigate to the drive that contains the driver needed, using the "dir" command to view the drive contents. Usually the D:, E:, or F: drive. (See Figure 12.)Figure 12. - Navigating of the file system to locate the driver file location.

Use the "CD" command to navigate through folders to the *.inf driver location. Use "dir" as necessary to see the contents of each folder. (See Figure 13.)Figure 13. - Navigating of the file system to locate the driver file location (Continued).

Find the .inf file needed for the device being installed in order to load Windows. (See Figure 14.)Figure 14. - Locating the driver .inf file.

Use the following command to load the appropriate driver needed to the system and press the Enter Key: (See Figure 15.)